[GMScud]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

^^ Loved this quote from the article:

"If those variations of the old 'move along, nothing to see here' defense weren't sufficient, [White House press secretary Robert] Gibbs offered up the rare triple-negative combination denial: 'I don't know that what is being said, or what is being reported, isn't something that hasn't been discussed fairly publicly.'"

It's not so much a "please don't pay attention" as much as it is a "uhhh, sure it was classified, but everybody already knew about it."

In fairness, the administration's response seems to be close to the truth. The documents were not "top secret" but were classified as "secret" which means (in government speak) lots of people actually had access to them and, according to one report, they were mostly the assessments of sergeants in the field. While certainly not something to ignore, it's not like these were relaying critical information.

Apparently, though, the Wikileaks folks were not as careful with names as the more traditional news outlets and may have placed some current soldiers/operatives at risk. If that is true, then the person or people responsible should be prosecuted for under the appropriate laws. I would hope the WH would be looking into that aspect of these leaks.

Fully agree. At least the Times took the names out.